Starbucks is on a (breakfast) roll. Last November, warm breakfast items were introduced. I like the English muffin with peppered bacon, egg and cheddar. In September came an apple bran muffin, a chewy nut and fruit bar, a power protein plate and perfect oatmeal. I like both the oatmeal and that chewy bar. But Starbucks may have stumbled last week with the introduction of a breakfast creation they alled the egg piadini. They look vaguely like over-sized manantaschen that haven't quite been finished.

For those who consider a bed of lettuce topped with crumbled feta cheese a Greek salad, I have news for you. In the parts of Greece we visited, such a salad wasn't common. The closest thing we had was chunks of the most tasty vine-ripened tomatoes tossed with diced cucumbers. It contained absolutely no lettuce - no iceberg, no romaine. And instead of crumbled feta, a half- to a quarter-inch-thick slab of cheese was laid on top of the tomatoes and cucumbers. Then the cheese was sprinkled with a hefty portion of dried oregano leaves.

Sometimes I need a little break from feasts of barbecued chicken and ribs, potato salad, coleslaw and fruit cobblers. That's when I survey my refrigerator for fresh vegetables, pull out my cutting board and favorite chef's knife and start chopping. Today there's a giant chopped salad for supper. I have carrots, fresh fennel, celery, a red onion, curly leaf lettuce, a bunch of dill, red cabbage, cucumbers, even broccoli in the mix. To add some protein I have included a can of chickpeas, wedges of hard-cooked eggs and a generous sprinkling of crumbled feta cheese.

Cheese brings protein and calcium to our diets. Plus it adds lots of flavor. Think of a Greek salad sprinkled with feta or a plate of pasta topped with grated parmesan. It just wouldn't be the same without the cheese. To keep my dishes healthful, I try to use cheeses that give the most flavor for the fat. I also worked out a formula to decrease the fat in a cheese-based recipe by replacing the full-fat cheese with 2/3 low-fat or nonfat cheese. The only problem I encounter is with nonfat cream cheese.

In South Florida, backyard grills can get a workout year round. My problem with barbecuing, though, is the glitches it makes for entertaining. One member of the family has to stand over the grill, and if you've set up the dinner table inside, you end up with a fractured party. Half the folks are outside, half are inside, and someone is up against the screen door making sure the dog doesn't come in the house. Too, you want to have an appetizer available while the rest of the food is being grilled.